VP name in use but not true

[jbrhwy]

You have a solution - create your own software.

[Petri]

I can have a folder called Foo and a VW file called Foo and an mp3 called Foo, and so on, without any problems or confusion.

But you can't! The files either have surnames (extensions) or are in different folders (the folder path then being a surname). In VW you can have as many Daves as you want as long as they are in different files.

[digitalcarbon]

look, we are going all over the place on this topic.

here is the point.

the section viewports have the ability to link the names we give them to our section & interior elevation markers on the plans.

hence, it is very important to call your section vp by the name you want your section marker to display i.e. 2/A6.3 (if your using the auto naming feature)

if it was not a section vp then i would have just done 2/A6.3x and be done with it.

if i want to call a viewport 2/A6.3 then the computer should read it as 2/A6.3.vp (this is the unique name for all you computer programers)

for all the people who make construction drawings:

we do not see 2/A6.3.vp it in the dialog box nor do we see 2/A6.3.vp at the interior elevation marker that shows up on our plan we just see 2/A6.3

that is want needs to be done.

[Petri]

Even better! So, you definitely have the need for a unique, unambiguous name. Just don't use the intended section names elsewhere. Simple.

Now, what was the object type for your 2/A6.3?

[digitalcarbon]

that is the problem. i do not know nor do i normaly lable things as such, except for viewports. so now i have to find this obscure object named 2/A6.3

it is most certianly not a viewport i already checked.

what can i do?

[Petri]

I have posted instructions how to start to figure out what the problem is. I can't help you if you refuse to help yourself. No-one can. You can flush yourself down the toilet, as far as I'm concerned.

[islandmon]

List all Symbols, Show All Classes, Use Worksheet to show all Names, etc.

[Petri]

MESSAGE(GETTYPE(GETOBJECT('2/A6.3')));

The word "digital" in "digitalmechanics" seems to carry the literal value of zero for comprehension. Zero fingers?

[digitalcarbon]

tact

[Pat Stanford]

To find an object try using a worksheet.

Create a new worksheet. Select row 2 and convert it to a database row. Set the criteria to Name is 2/A6.3. If you click the littl ebox to the rihgt of hte fill in box for the name, you will get a list of all named objects in the drawing to choose from.

In the cell A1 type in =L In cell A2 type in =C

The worksheet will now display the layer and class of the object with that name. If nothing shows, then the object is not in the drawing, but rather in the resources.

Pat

[Pat Stanford]

Earlier in this thread, there was some discussion of using colons and slashes in names. I just want to point out that this can be dangerous.

Colons are used by Macs to deparate directory paths. Slashes are used similarly by windows. Periods are used by both programs to separate extensions from file names. I know this is for file system operations, but I still try to avoid these characters.

Similarly, VW (or was it MiniCad) used to have a problem with text delimiters. If you used single or double quotes in a text string, the program could get confused. For example, if you named a layer 17' elevation, it might be read as just 17.

For this reason, I have tried to simplify the characters I use for spacing in names. I recommend that you stick to dashes and underscores and avoid most other characters in names on a computer.

Pat

[VectorGeek]

For this reason, I have tried to simplify the characters I use for spacing in names. I recommend that you stick to dashes and underscores and avoid most other characters in names on a computer.

Hi Pat,

How about spaces for spaces?

V-G.

[Pat Stanford]

Spaces are probably OK, but it depends on what you are doing.

I am old enough to have come from DOS, where spaces were not allowed in file names.

I am enough of a geek that I work in the Unix terminal some times. In this case you have to add delimiters (quotes) around file names athat have spaces in them.

I am enough of a programmer that I use a lot of variable names that don't allow spaces.

I am enough of a simpleton that I hate having to remember all of these things, so I just try to make things simple and not use spaces or other special characters.

Pat

[VectorGeek]

Fair enough. I just see users who work in only VW adopting conventions (like underscores as spaces) that have no rational requirement. It's like naming a layer "A_FURN" instead of "Architectural Furniture".

Now back to my COBOL manual.....

Vector_Geek.

[Petri]

Compliance with SILLY_CONVENTIONS may be rational.

[ccroft]

If God meant us to use computers he would have given us Gigabit Wi-Fi compatible brain waves.

[islandmon]

.. I_use_underscores-and-hyphens-&-even > points_in*-my>names

Oh, God why hath thou forsaken me !

[panthony]

OK...>

I would like to throw in on this one.

I'm with Pat on this in that waaaaayyyy back in the days of DOS and Unix and my old standby XENIX naming conventions were at best hyrogliphic. So I had to adapt and make up some kind of system that would allow my 2 existing non-burnt-out hippie brain cells recall what the hell I was thinking when I named that file...you'all know what I mean.

With VW you are limited to one, single, unique name for every object in a file. It sucks cuz I ran out of unique names about 30 years ago when we were trying to come up with unique names for mind altering substances like bb's and ludes.

So my system involves numbers in sequence of a series of digits that are represented with letters that mean something. Take for instance the symbol library....

The symbols display in the resource browser allows only two lines of 10 digits each to label a symbol. With this limitation it is very difficult to name something where anything beyond 20 digits will be truncated leaving making the name essentially non descript and with some long names useless.

My window and door symbols use an alpha sequence naming convention like this....

OO-OO-OO-O

First two digits identify the Opening ID

DI - Doors Interior

DE - Doors Exterior

WN - Windows

The second two digits identify the Opening Type

SW - Swing Hinge

BF - Bi-fold

PK - Pocket

BP - Bi-pass

DD - Double door

SG - Sliding Glass

SL - Slider

AW - Awning

DH - Double hung

CS - Casement

FX - Fixed

OH - Overhead

LV - Louver

The third set of digits identify the Exterior Wall Veneer

BK - Brick

ST - Stone

SD - Siding

SU - Stucco

GP - Gypsum

The final digit identifies the wall thickness

4 - 2"x4" wall

6 - 2"x6" wall

8 - 2"x8" wall

The second line of 10 digits is used to identify the manufacturers or product label such as 2/4-6/8 for a 2'-4" x 6'-8" door or 3777 which is a Pella Window Label.

So a final read for a 2'-4" x 8'-0" interior, 6 panel, hollow core, hinged door in a 2"x4" Gyp sheathed wall would be...

Line 1) DI-SW-GP-4

Line 2) 2480-6P-HC

This is the best way that I have found to index symbols in some kind of order that makes it easy to scroll through them and find what you are looking for quickly.

But then again cotter pins hold a roach better than paper clips because the steel is slightly anealed allowing the built-in spring tension to have a higher holding strength as opposed to a paper clip which must be manually reconfigured and subsequently will have adequete retention but loose its effectiveness as a paper clip and have only a single use for its intended purpose and be disgarded when the user finds that it conducts heat much more readily thereby causing it to be tossed.

Well...where did you think all of this environmentally, sustainable, green building science came from anyway?

islandmon said #%*!

[Petri]

And after all this effort, you can't distinguish left-handed doors from right-handed ones? Fire-rated doors from others? (Some of which may be of steel construction, with steel jambs.)

Living is easy in the fair mathematically-challenged country of NC!

[Pat Stanford]

While we are on the subject of naming, the other reason to use characters instead of spaces is to help reinforce the idea that it is a system, not just random.

If you want to maket things easy to find and sort, you need to think about how yo name them.

If you are using dates, put the date first (or at least always in the same location) and do YY-MM-DD and always use a leading zero. That way, things will sort correctly by year. If you don't us the leading zero, then you will get things that sort like

1

10

11

2

21

22

3

The other way to organize symbols if you are not as system oriented as panthony would be to use symbol folders. You could use separate folders for each of his main categorie and then use a slightly longer description to identify each item.

Pat

[panthony]

It's easy to dishtinguish between the left and right by sight. A fire door is informational that data can easily be added without affecting whether the door is left or right. Same goes with steel doors and jambs...informational. The symbol can be many things but you can't have a bi-fold and left hand door share the same symbol...but they can both be fire rated and steel.

It's all in perspective and besides the country of NC is warm and cozy...so we are easily amused.

Pete

[Petri]

The computer system of the construction firm does not eyeball drawings. It just places orders for doors as specified; a door meaning a full assembly, ready to be installed. No perspective needed.

[panthony]

You are correct...but, we are talking about symbol objects. Symbols are distingiushed by dimension...width, height, depth. They can however be populated with varied data attached to the object defining its character. I would not want to have multiple instances of identical geometry differing only in informational data. That information can be added via records or ID labels. Its the difference between buying a screwdriver from the corner hardware instead of Wall Mart. Same screw driver but the one from the corner store was easier to get.

[Petri]

You are correct, too. This is a somewhat problematic issue with no ideal solution - especially as it is too easy to flip a door. In full "product modeling" the question becomes particularly urgent - the data record is not, AFAIK, a part of IFC export.